Norbury is schizophrenic, psychologist testifies at murder trial

A psychologist testified in Mendocino County Superior Court Wednesday that he had diagnosed convicted killer Billy M. Norbury as a paranoid schizophrenic.

A jury on Monday convicted Norbury, 34, of shooting and killing his Redwood Valley neighbor, Jamal Andrews, 30, on the night of Jan. 24.

Norbury faces 50 years to life in prison for the first-degree murder charge and a special allegation that he used a 30-30 Winchester rifle to kill Andrews that night, shooting him twice in front of Andrews' girlfriend in the couple's front yard.

"This is a brain-damaged individual (who was) not medicated," Dr. John Podboy said on the witness stand Wednesday afternoon. "His thought process is not linear, it's nonsensical. He has big blocks of time he can't account for -- not hours but days."

He was called to the stand in the second phase of the murder trial, where Norbury's Ukiah defense attorney, Al Kubanis, is making his case to the jury that it was more likely than not that Norbury was legally insane at the time of the shooting. Norbury in July changed his not-guilty plea to one of not guilty by reason of insanity (commonly called an NGI plea).

Insanity is a legal term under state law meaning that because of a mental defect or disorder, the defendant didn't understand the nature or quality of the act, or was incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong.

If he is found not guilty by reason of insanity, Norbury will be referred to spend his sentence at a mental health facility, and could at some point qualify for an outpatient program and live in the community, according to Mendocino County District Attorney David Eyster, who is prosecuting the case.

Podboy, a clinical forensic psychologist, said he had interviewed Norbury three times for a total of about six hours to prepare for the trial, and had used several tests to assess Norbury.

Podboy said Norbury had showed signs of having "persecutory delusions," being "disconnected from reality" and having "auditory hallucinations."

Schizophrenia is exacerbated by drug or alcohol use, according to Podboy, who also had noted that Norbury, who he acknowledged was an alcoholic, drank to lessen the effects of voices telling him to "do bad things." The condition worsened, he said, when Norbury's now-estranged wife left him and filed for divorce.

"Once she left with the three children, he lost his grasp on consentual reality," Podboy said. At Kubanis' urging, Podboy clarified that meant Norbury could not "agree on what's going on."

Podboy continued, "His inner world would overtake him. His inner world was very disturbing for the most part, and it's something he can't control."

At one point in his questioning, Kubanis picked up the murder weapon and showed it to Podboy and the jury, making a point that the rifle required lever-action cocking for each of the three shots Norbury fired that night. Eyster had said in his closing arguments during the guilt phase of the trial that the action required to fire the rifle showed Norbury was able to think through what he was doing.

"He was striking first so he could avoid his own death," Podboy said, asked by Kubanis about the matter. "You might say that's nonsensical, but again, that's what you've got with a schizophrenic; it doesn't make sense."

Podboy also testified that he didn't think Norbury could care for himself or his children. Knowing Eyster intended to read for the jury transcripts of testimony given during Norbury's child custody hearing, Kubanis asked Podboy what he would think of previous testimony to the contrary.

"His self-import does not impress me in that regard," Podboy said.

Near the end of his direct examination, Kubanis asked Podboy for his opinion on Norbury's state of mind regarding the legal definition of insanity.

"I feel he could not appreciate the nature and quality of his acts," Podboy answered.

Eyster began his cross-examination by paraphrasing one of the Ten Commandments.

Questioning Podboy about methods he had testified could be used to diagnose the physical component of schizophrenia, Podboy said no MRI or isotope test had been done on Norbury.

Eyster ran down a list of questions on a questionnaire of Podboy's design that the psychologist had asked Norbury, asking Podboy in each case if he had any reason to believe Norbury's answer wasn't true.

Podboy confirmed that Norbury had told him on that questionnaire that he wasn't paranoid and had no violent fantasies, among other things, and that he'd been hospitalized for two hours in 2010 when a nail had gone through his foot.

Eyster also asked Podboy to confirm that he had documented no blackouts during his first interview with Norbury.

At one point, Podboy said he had been on the stand for three hours without his notes, and that Eyster was "ambushing" him, as he'd been told not to bring his materials concerning Norbury to the stand.

Judge John Behnke, who has refereed numerous interruptions by both attorneys and some witnesses during the trial, later clarified that Podboy could ask to look at his materials to refresh his memory.

Eyster said family members had testified that Norbury had experienced "crying or wailing episodes," a symptom Podboy had said supported his schizophrenia diagnosis. During his opening statements for the insanity phase, Eyster told the jury Tuesday that Mendocino County Jail staff would testify Norbury had not needed medication or counseling.

"Has (Norbury) had any crying or wailing bouts in the Mendocino County Jail (since his January arrest)?" Eyster asked.

Podboy said he didn't know.

Eyster asked him if he knew two members of the jail staff by name and was familiar with the process jail staff used to check on Norbury.

"What kind of question is this?" Podboy said. He explained that he checks with jail staffs in the counties in which he testifies for criminal cases, and that he knew how the process worked in Sonoma County, but not for Mendocino County.

"It doesn't have a very good track record, are you aware of that, Mr. Eyster?" Podboy said.

Eyster asked Podboy about another test that used true/false questions, saying there was an F by the statement, "There's something wrong with my mind," and clarified that Podboy had written that letter.

Podboy explained that he had given the tests at different times and wasn't sure of the dates. Behnke said at the end of the day that clarity would be needed on the dates when Podboy resumes the stand today.

Tiffany Revelle can be reached at udjtr@pacific.net, on Twitter @TiffanyRevelle or at 468-3523.